Top hotels to promote Chao Phraya as world-class waterfront destination
EIGHT MAJOR hotels on the Chao Phraya riverside are working on a series of events and activities in the year to come with a view to drawing leisure and business travellers into Bangkok.
Local and luxury international hotel brands have formed Bangkok River Partners to promote the river and top-brand hotels as a destination for such travellers, said David Robinson, director of the partnership.
The group members are the Millennium Hilton, Royal Orchid Sheraton, Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, The Peninsula Bangkok, Shangri-La Hotel, Chatrium Hotel Riverside, Ramada Plaza Bangkok Menam Riverside and Anantara Bangkok Riverside.
“We are busy designing a programme of events – some large, some small – but all showcasing the very best of Thai creativity, showmanship and hospitality,” he said yesterday.
In the year to come, visitors will be able to participate in a lights festival, a design week, food fairs, music festivals, art gallery hops, fun runs, corporate social responsibility activities, and more.
These events will help create a world-class waterfront destination and attract business and leisure travellers to Bangkok, he said.
Robinson added that the public and private sectors had begun to flock back to the Chao Phraya’s banks, revitalising the river with projects that together would recreate the waterfront areas to reach their fullest potential.
Like other great waterfront destinations, Bangkok’s river is naturally a hub for tourism. The country’s most magnificent palaces and temples are at the heart of the city, and bustling markets, street vendors and famous eateries sitting alongside funky bars, vibrant restaurants, art galleries and boutiques all dot the locales up and down the river, he said.
Moreover, world-famous festivals such as Songkran and Loy Krathong are annually celebrated on its waters.
In addition, the river is playing host to more meetings and events, and the eight hotels in the partnership – with state-of-the-art facilities and staff experienced in conducting world-class conferences and incentives, and a plethora of usual and unusual places to gather – are increasingly seen as ideal venues for the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) industry, he explained.
Over the years, significant events have been held on the river’s banks: One of the world’s top luxury brands chose to have their global conference on the river by combining the Mandarin Oriental and The Peninsula for accommodation, meetings, dining and entertainment.
The Shangri-La Hotel hosted the “2012 World Economic Forum”, with more than 500 delegates including heads of state, captains of industry, and media chiefs gathering for two days of conference and 14 days of meetings, while staying at the eight luxury riverside hotels.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently held its regional meeting on the bank of the Chao Phraya at the Royal Orchid Sheraton, a choice that proved to be in alignment with its environmental agenda, as attendees experienced an insightful tour to the mangroves of Bang Kachao or a long-tail boat canal ride.
Robinson said a small group of people had given birth to the Bangrak Klongsan Creative District project.
Representatives of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Thailand Creative & Design Centre, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thammasat University, Bangkok River Partners, small business and local communities are shaping a project that aims to preserve local cultural and heritage sites along the Chao Phraya’s east and west banks north of Taksin Bridge to Phra PhutthaYodfa Bridge near Chinatown, he said.
A framework and roadmap should be completed by the end of this year as working groups develop and refine their ideas into quick wins and longer-term goals, he added.
